Flush valve assembly for toilets



April 1, 1958 F; J. HOME 8 2,828,488

FLUSH VALVE ASSEMBLY FOR TOILETS Filed Aug. 31, 1956 INVENTOR. FREDEmcK 4 Home.

- ATTOQMEYS Patented Apr. 1 1958 FLUSH VALVE ASSEMBLY FOR TOILETS Frederick E. Hone, Long Beach, Calif.

Application August 31, 1956, Serial No. 607,345

2 Claims. (Cl. 4-57) This invention relates to an improved flush valve mechanism for toilets, so designed as'to promote a more eificient flushing action than is found when conventional valves are employed.

Some difficulties are experienced with conventional flush valves, in that in many instances, the flush valve fails to remain in its unseated position during the emptying of the tank. In other instances, the flush valve remains unseated until the tank is almost fully emptied, but tends to drop back into a seated position while there is still a substantial amount of water within the flush tank. Either of these circumstances is of course undesirable, and the present invention has as its main object a provision of a generally improved flush valve, in which there will be an action that will insure the overcoming of the deficiencies noted in conventional valves.

My present invention, summarized briefly, comprises a cylindrical guide adapted to extend upwardly from the valve seat, and having a solid wall except for the provision of longitudinally extending, circumferentially spaced slots through which water is adapted to enter when a ball enclosed by the guide is lifted off the seat. The ball is adapted to be lifted by a vertically swingable lever, pivotally mounted adjacent the valve seat, said lever hav ing below the seat a relatively large diameter tongue of imperf orate construction, so disposed as to elevate the ball when the lever is lifted. A lift rod is connected to the lever intermediate opposite ends thereof, and extends upwardly within the overflow pipe of the flush tank mechanism, said lever-lifting rod having at its upper end a downwardly opening hook adapted to receive an elongated arm pivotally mounted upon the wall of the flush tank and adapted to be swung vertically, responsive to swinging of the usual handle mounted on the tank.

While the main object of the invention is to provide a generally improved flush valve mechanism for toilets, there are a number of more specific objects, among which are the following:

First, to so design the guide that the ball Will be maintained in a still water area when in its elevated-position, thus to be substantially unaffected by turbulence under conditions that would ordinarily tend to seat the ball prematurely;

Second, to so form the guide that streams of water coverging toward the seat through the slot-like openings of the guide will form a pyramid or false high level of water within the guide on which the ball will float, thus to create a delayed action as regards seating of the ball until the tank is almost fully depleted of water, with the construction being designed to thereafter cause a sudden collapse of the false high water column to cause a rapid seating of the ball;

, Third, to provide in cooperation with the above described arrangement a solid tongue formation on the lifting lever to be disposed within the path of water flowing downwardly through the valve seat, thus to cause the downwardly flowing water to impinge against the lifting lever to hold the same in its down position and thereby overcome any resistance to immediate dropping of the lifting lever that might otherwise be caused by a sluggishly acting tank handle;

Fourth, to provide a guide construction for flush tank ball valves, so designed that it can be easily assembled in proper position, will be readily accessible for replacement of the ball, and will be resistant to any tendency of the float support arm catchnig thereupon;

Fifth, to design the construction in such a way that the lift arm need not be specially apertured, or otherwise formed in a manner that would require its connection to the lift red at a particular location along the length of the lift arm; and

Sixth, to provide a flush valve mechanism for tanks that will be capable of manufacture at a very low cost, will be long lived, and will insure to the maximum extent troublefree operation of the flushing mechanism of the toilet.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Figure l is a fragmentary perspective view showing the interior of a flush tank equipped with a flush valve mechanism according to the invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged section taken longitudinally through the mechanism on line 22 of Figure l, the ball being shown in seated and elevated positions in full and dotted lines respectively;

Figure 3 is a plan sectional view on line 33 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a transverse section through the lower part of the assembly on line 44 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings in detail, a conventional toilet flush tank has been generally designated at 10, and mounted therein is the flush valve mechanism 12 con stituting the present invention.

An overflow tube 14 disposed in closely spaced relation to the front wall of the flush tank has an externally threaded lower extremity engaged in a complementarily threaded opening of a boss formed upon the top wall of a hollow lever housing 18 tapering toward its outer end as being shown in Figure 2. The housing 18 extends obliquely to the plane of the front wall of the flush tank as shown in Figure 1 and is integral at its lower end with a cylindrical, vertically disposed, tubular fitting 2t) externally threaded to engage the threads of a nut 22 turned home against the underside of the bottom wall of tank 1:). Immediately above the bottom wall, the fitting 2t) has a circumferential flange 24 and compressed between flange 24 and the edge of the usual fitting-receiving opening of the tank is an annular, rubber gasket 26 of triangular cross section.

The upper end of the tubular fitting 26 may be slightly beveled to provide a valve seat 28, and surrounding the valve seat is a circumferential loop 3d. A flush ball 32 of soft rubber or the like normally engages against the valve seat 28 as shown in full lines in Figure 2, to prevent loss of water from the flush tank.

The ball 32 is adapted to move upwardly and downwardly within a cylindrical, vertically disposed guide 34 which may be of plastic, glass, metal, etc. In the illustrated example, the guide 34 has a circumferential series of longitudinally extending, wide slots 36 formed in its side wall, said slots extending fully to the lower end of the guide, which seats upon the flange 24. Lip 30 serves to center the guide in respect to the valve seat 28, and prevents the guide from tilting out of proper position.

The guide is closed at its upper end by a shallowly conical top wall 38, having a center opening 40 into which extends a depending finger 46 formed upon the outer end of a hold-down wire 42 the inner end of which has a coil 44 engaged about overflow tube 14. The hold-down wire asesnss is preferred in the present embodiment of the invention, to prevent the guide 34 from accidentally moving up wardly out of proper position. However, other expedients may be employed to hold the guide down and in this connection, it will be understood that in many circumstances, a hold-down means is not required. For example, if the guide were made of glass, the weight thereof would be suflicient to hold the same in proper position upon the fitting 20.

Vertically swingable within the lever housing 18 is a lift lever 48, formed as an elongated, straight member the outer or free end of which is integrally formed with a circular, fiat tongue 56 underlying ball 32 and offset up wardly from the length of the main or body portion of the lever. The tongue 59 fills a substantial area of the fitting interior, adjacent the seat 28, but does not fill so great an area as to interfere with movement of the water downwardly through the fitting when the ball 32 is lifted.

At its inner end, lever 48 has a cross head the ends of which engage against opposite side walls of the lever housing 18, said cross head being bored to receive a fulcrum screw 52. In Figure 4, the screw is illustrated as threaded at the end thereof remote from the head of the screw, for engagement in a complementarily threaded recess of the lever housing. However, the threads of the screw could be disposed adjacent the screw head, so as to reduce measurably the tendency of the screw to shear, when torque is applied thereto for the purpose of removing the same under conditions in which the threads thereof have been heavily corroded. This, of course, is an expedient or design feature which can be varied as necessary, it being mainly important that the screw provide a horizontal axis about which the lever may pivot between the full and dotted line positions thereof shown in Figure 2.

Intermediate its ends, the lever is formed with an apertured ear, to which is connected a hooked lower end of a straight, elongated lifting rod 54- that extends axially within the overflow tube 14. The upper end of the lifting rod projects above the overflow tube, and has a downwardly opening hook or open loop 56 receiving the free end portion of an elongated, straight, wide lift arm 58. The lift arm 58, at its other end, is connected to a flushing handle 65) mounted exteriorly of the tank, in a manner such that on swinging of the flushing handle in a downward direction, the free end portion of the lift arm 58 will move upwardly, to elevate the lift rod 54 and hence the lever 48. Hook 56 is of a length to insure that it will extend into tube 14 in both the raised and lowered positions of the lift arm 58.

As shown in Figure 2, the plane of swinging movement of the arm 58 passes through the overflow tube 14, that is, the upper end of the overflow tube acts as a stop limiting downward movement of the lift arm 58, thus to provide a rest for the lift arm.

In use of the device, one depresses the handle 60, swinging upwardly the lift arm 58. This elevates the lift rod 54, and swings the lever 48 upwardly to its dotted line position in Figure 4. The tongue 50 moves upwardly through the seat 23, engaging and lifting the ball 32. The water within the flush tank is accordingly free to rush through the slot-like openings 36, below the ball to pass into and through the fitting 20. In this connection, the arrangement is such that as the water beings to rush through the fitting 20 it immediately depresses the lever 43, due to the provision of the flat, imperforate, discshaped tongue 50 on the lever, which is disposed broadside to the path of movement of the water. Therefore, the water has what might appropriately be termed an of feet of exerting a positive pressure in a downward direction upon the free end of the lift lever, causing the same to immediately shift downwardly. This is desirable in view of the fact that in some instances, the return movement of a' tank handle 69 is sluggish. The downtil) ward pressure exerted upon the lever 48 by the flush water overcomes any sluggishness in this respect, so that the lever is immediately forced downwardly to its full line position after the ball has been elevated, to remain in said position until the flushing action has been completed.

The ball, however, will not drop down during the flushing action. This is due to the fact that the water, rushing through the several slots 36, converges toward the center of the valve seat 28, creating a pyramidal column or false high level of water immediately below the ball, on which column the ball will float in the relatively still water provided within the guide 34.

Ultimately, when the tank is substantially fully depleted, there will be no more support for the pyramid, and the pyramidal column will suddenly collapse, so that the ball will drop with equal suddenness to its seat 28 to terminate the flushing action.

It may also be that the presence of the tongue 50, located in the path of the water flowing downwardly through the fitting when the lever is in its lowered position, serves as a baflle for the flush water, that also tends to create a solid, pyramidally shaped column of water below the ball SZ, so that there is a cooperating action in this respect between the lever and the particular formation of the guide and the openings of the guide.

Still further, it is an important characteristic of the in vention that the guide is capable of being cheaply made, while still being fully eflicient when in use.

It is thought worthy of note although the housing 18 is shown in position extending transversely of the flush tank, in an actual installation said housing 18 may extend along the wall of the tank, in substantially parallel relation thereto rather than obliquely to of said wall. The entire device would thus be located close to the wall, and may be in direct contact with the same. The valve would be best positioned, it is believed, when contacting the inner surface of the front Wall of the tank. A first reason for this arrangement would be that the device would act as its own stop when the installation is being effected and the large nut 22 is being tightened against the underside of the tank, that is, the device would hold itself against rotation by engaging the front wall of the tank. Secondly, this arrangement would place the overflow tube and the lifting rod in line with the arm 58, thereby eliminating the need to form an offset in said arm. Still further, the assembly is located in an out-ofthe-way position, to facilitate installation and repairs within the flush tank;

It may be noted that the arm 58 is merely positioned loosely through the downwardly opening loop 56 of the lift rod. This eliminates the need for making special adjustments in positions of the arm, that is, the arm need not be apertured to receive the lifting rod and in effect is self-adjusting when engaged in the loop,

It is also believed worthy of note that the shape of the openings 36 of the guide could be varied as desired. so long as the functional characteristics of the invention herein'be'fore described are retained.

It is believed apparent that the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it r'na'y be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a flush valve mechanism for a toilet flush tank the combination, with a vertical, tubular outlet fitting adapted for mounting in the bottom wall of a flush tank, said fitting including a first circumferential flange at its upper end and a smaller circumferential flange spaced axially of the fitting from the first flange and having a diameter greater than that of the first flange, a ball valve seating on the upper end of the fitting, means for elevating the ball valve, and an upstanding overflow pipe adjacent said fitting, of: a cylindrical, hollow guide coaxial with the fitting and having a side wall formed to an inner diameter closely approximating that of the first flange, said guide having a lower end seating on the second flange, the guide snugly engaging about the first flange and projecting upwardly from the fitting in a position enclosing the ball valve, the guide having a plurality of angularly spaced openings in its side wall extending to the first flange from a location above a horizontal plane tangent, in the elevated position of the ball valve, to the bottommost portion of the ball valve, said guide having a top wall formed with a center opening; and means mounted exteriorly upon said overflow pipe for slidable adjustment longitudinally of the overflow pipe and frictionally gripping the pipe in selected positions to which the second named means is adjusted, said second named means projecting laterally from the overflow pipe and including a depending finger bearing in said opening of the top wall to hold the guide seated upon the fitting.

2. In a flush valve mechanism for a toilet flush tank the combination, with a vertical, tubular outlet fitting adapted for mounting in the bottom wall of a flush tank, said fitting including a first circumferential flange at its upper end and a smaller circumferential flange spaced axially of the fitting from the first flange and having a diameter greater than that of the first flange, a ball valve seating on the upper end of the fitting, means for elevating the ball valve, and an upstanding overflow pipe adjacent said fitting, of: a cylindrical, hollow guide coaxial with the fitting and having a side wall formed to an inner diameter closely approximating that of the first flange, said guide having a lower end seating on the second flange, the guide snugly engaging about the first flange and projecting upwardly from the fitting in a position enclosing the ball valve, the guide having a plurality of angularly spaced openings in its side wall extending to the first flange from a location above a horizontal plane tangent, in the elevated position of the ball valve,

to the bottommost portion of the ball valve, said guide having a top wall formed with a center opening; and means mounted upon said overflow pipe for slidable adjustment longitudinally of the overflow pipe and frictionally gripping the pipe in selected positions to which the second named means is adjusted, said second named means projecting laterally from the overflow pipe and including a depending finger bearing in said opening of the end wall to hold the guide seated upon the fitting, said second named means comprising a single length of wire one end of which is coiled about the overflow pipe to connect said length to the overflow pipe, the other end of said wire being integrally formed with said finger.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,004,707 Stewart Oct. 3, 1911 1,054,940 Rea Mar. 4, 1913 1,154,695 Friesleben Sept. 28, 1915 1,439,268 Shoppe et a1. Dec. 19, 1922 2,626,399 Blair Ian. 27, 1953 2,632,182 Stader Mar. 24, 1953 2,739,316 Home Mar. 27, 1956 

